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Follows A Little Spark: Sc.44-48

By E4-NG
Created: 2021-10-24 10:44:00
Expiry: Never
anontwilight sparkle/rgre/princess celestiaprincess lunatechnologyfalsraven inkwell

  1. >“Anon!”
  2. >Twilight canters onto the boarding platform, straight into your open arms. You close them around her as she closes her wings around you, and she nuzzles the side of your head as you stroke her mane.
  3. “Welcome home.”
  4. >The two of you pull back and touch noses, and you kiss the top of her head behind her horn as you stand.
  5. >”Oh! I got you something!"
  6. >She levitates a bundle out of her saddlebags, and drops it into your hands once you hold them out.
  7. >It’s very hard, heavy, and bigger than one of your closed fists.
  8. >”You said that human couples give each other rings with jewels, and, well…”
  9. >You unwrap the paper surrounding it to behold the biggest faceted gemstone you’ve ever seen, colorless and clear.
  10. “Holy hell, Twilight. What is this, diamond? How much did this cost?”
  11. >”Nothing. A friend and I grew it, though it took all day, then she faceted it the next. Pure sapphire – corundum, not diamond – has no color. Not as hard as diamond but more durable. It’ll be perfect for a spell focus.”
  12. >The two of you turn to head towards the palace, after you place it back in her bags.
  13. “Which friend is this?”
  14. >”She’s the one I got the shroud for the claws from, to protect the internals. She made shrouds for the whole body while I was there, as we needed. If you ever wondered if cutie marks were always accurate, she’s a tailor with a cutie mark for gemstones.”
  15. “Seems odd.”
  16. >”She’s in fashion, so I guess it works. I told her our plans and she said she’d never worked in metal before, and then went to do just that. So now I have some orders for the smithy.”
  17. “Heh, we’re dressing her up already and she isn’t even born yet.”
  18. >”And another one of my friends already wants to race her.”
  19. “She’s going to have to wait a few years.”
  20. >”And another wants to throw us a celebration.”
  21. “I’m not big on formal occasions.”
  22. >”Don’t tell her that.”
  23. >You smile as the two of you walk out of the station into Canterlot’s streets, lit by a setting sun.
  24. “Sounds like your friends all took it well.”
  25. >”Of course they did, they’re happy for me. They’re going to miss me when I start spending more time here, but I’ll make enough time for everyone.” She chuckles. “Besides, how else would they react, knowing I’m in a royal herd?”
  26. “No idea. This is entirely outside the realm of my experience, Twilight. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all.”
  27. >She nuzzles your side as you approach the palace gate. “You’ll be fine.”
  28. >After making a quick detour to the smithy to drop the new orders off with a note they’re to be prepared as soon as possible, the two of you make your way to the workshop.
  29. >The sisters are inside, eyeing the mare’s body, without legs or a head, currently hanging from the ceiling, wings spread. They both turn and smile as you and Twilight enters.
  30. >Celestia meets Twilight halfway. ”There’s our wayward leader. Was your trip productive?”
  31. >”Yes! I got everything I needed, and then some. Everypony sends their regards and well-wishes, Princess.”
  32. >Celestia shakes her head. “You don’t need to be so formal, Twilight.”
  33. >”I… sorry. Habit.”
  34. >You walk around them as they nuzzle each other’s necks, over to Luna’s side, wrapping an arm around her neck to scratch her cheek and play with an ear, while you look over the body suspended in the middle of the room.
  35. “Looks like you two have been doing good work.”
  36. >She resettles her wings in a shrug-like gesture. ”We merely put pieces together.”
  37. “You’d be surprised how bad some people I knew are at that, even with clear directions.”
  38. >”My sister has been doing more work than me, for sure…”
  39. >You laugh and pull her head into your side.
  40. “Any contribution helps.”
  41. >The other two alicorns join you, on the body’s other side. Twilight’s horn glows, and then pieces of the body match its light, flashing across many for the briefest of moments before moving on.
  42. >”I don’t feel anything out of place,” Twilight says. “This is a huge help.”
  43. >Luna beams, while Celestia simply nods. “Anon has been helping us understand all you two have accomplished. I knew your achievements weren’t just limited to magic and friendship, Twilight.”
  44. >Twilight’s turn to smile, as she climbs up on a nearby workbench to inspect the body from another angle. “It looks like most of the inner body shell is done.”
  45. “The legs are ready for assembly, they’re just waiting on your shrouding.”
  46. >She lifts the relevant pieces of fabric from her saddlebags, then floats them around the benches. “Then lets not waste any more time!”
  47.  
  48. * * *
  49.  
  50. >“You should sleep.”
  51. >Luna looks at you with concern, standing next to the stool you’d just sat heavily on. The light from her horn fades. Without it, the workshop descends into gloom again.
  52. >Good lighting was one of the things you still missed from back home. You’ll have to see about rigging something up, sometime soon.
  53. “I’ll be fine. I just need a moment.”
  54. >”You look exhausted.”
  55. “I can’t say I’m not. But if I go to sleep now, you’ll be here all alone. I’ll stay up as long as I can, that way we can still get work done, and you’ll still have company. Then when the other two wake up, they can take over, and Twilight can guide Celestia.”
  56. >You look over to the pile of bedding Celestia had moved into your workshop several days prior.
  57. >She and Twilight are sleeping soundly. Twilight’s curled up into a little ball. Celestia’s stretched around her back, hugging the purple pony to her belly and chest, with one wing draped over her.
  58. >Their peaceful repose and quiet breathing bring you a weary smile, before you look back to your work.
  59. “Alright, gimme some light again, please?”
  60. >Luna’s horn resumes its glow, illuminating the body casing. Little motes of light drift off her horn, floating into and around your work, hanging in place once they reach suitable locations like a swarm of obedient and very bright fireflies.
  61. >You look back inside to the freshly-mounted and already-spinning generator, glancing over all the fasteners one more time.
  62. >You’d already secured the larger cables in place, providing main power for the wings. They’d be disconnected from the rotors for years, until your filly-to-be can learn how her body works, and not hurt anything or herself. It’s still easier to get them in-place now, rather than when that time comes.
  63. >You don’t know how she’ll take to being partially dismantled after all.
  64. >What an unusual thought.
  65. >Satisfied, you pick up your soldering iron once more, and reposition your stool to give you easy access to the row of contacts coming off one side.
  66. “Alright, now hold this wire for me right here.”
  67. >You tap one of the contacts with the tip of the iron.
  68. >Luna grabs one with magic, placing its stripped end against the contact.
  69. >You solder the thick stranded wire to the contact, and Luna retrieves another wire.
  70. >Once this process is completed for all the contacts, you sit back, place the iron in its stand, then rest your head against a hand.
  71. “Alright, you should be able to put that frame piece on the front now. I’ll start running these to where they need to go, down the side.”
  72. >”Remember the ones for the neck!”
  73. “Ah, yeah. Right. What would I do if you weren’t here.”
  74. >She eyes you with concern. “Sleep, as you should.”
  75. >You wave her off, then move to the body’s side, sitting on a new chair.
  76. “I’ll be fine.”
  77. >”I shall tell Twilight to check your work, come the morrow.”
  78. “Yeah, please do. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked this late.”
  79. >You reach over and grab Luna’s chin, pulling her head over and up to look into her eyes.
  80. “Too busy spending time with you.”
  81. >She smiles, but eventually shakes her head out of your grasp. “If you insist on working, then let us work.”
  82. “Yeah. A’ight. Four wires, the ones off contacts three through six; those go up to the neck through the frame gap on the right side.”
  83. >After watching Luna to be sure she knew where you were talking about, you turned to the flank before you, and start threading the wires here to the proper places.
  84. >”Anon?”
  85. >You look over to her, but you can tell she’s already done what you asked correctly. She’s looking over the body in general.
  86. “Yeah?”
  87. >”She may standeth at my side. The three of us together, since you have been staying up for me. I never had anyone for company, before you started doing that, and you need sleep too. But if she can stayeth all night, as you say…”
  88. >She looks at you then, with a trembling smile. “Just thinking about it…”
  89. >You hop off your stool and move to her side, hugging her. She hugs you back with her wings.
  90. “You won’t be left out. Not anymore. She’s for all of us.”
  91. >Luna nods, over your shoulder. “Thank you. For everything.”
  92. “No, thank you. You were a big help in showing me this world. This is the least I could do to repay that, to help you realize what you deserve.”
  93. >”You are starting to convince me of that.”
  94. “Of what?”
  95. >”That I deserve this.”
  96. >You tweak her cheek when she pulls back from you.
  97. “Hey, look, progress all around, right?”
  98. >She nods, smiling. “And eventually, I shall make a proper stallion of you.”
  99. “Is that a threat?”
  100. >”A promise. Now let us get back to our collective whimsy.”
  101.  
  102. * * *
  103.  
  104. >There’s something off about this hip joint.
  105. >Or maybe how the leg’s attached to it.
  106. >You figured you should have left the leg connecting to the morning crew. You’ve only got one attached, and it hangs a bit awkwardly.
  107. >Maybe you misread the plans.
  108. >You know the plans aren’t wrong, you and Twilight had gone over every little detail when you reworked them.
  109. >But for some reason this connection just doesn’t look right, not to your tired mind, your heavy eyes.
  110. >Luna, beside you, looks to something at your back.
  111. >But that detail seems really far away.
  112. >Everything does.
  113. >”Good morning.”
  114. >Celestia’s voice right next to your ear makes you jump.
  115. >You’d have fallen out of your chair if a big white wing didn’t catch you.
  116. “Is… is it already?”
  117. >”Yes, silly.”
  118. >You look out the window.
  119. >The sky beyond is starting to light with the colors of dawn.
  120. >When you look back, Luna is giving you a flat glare “And now you may sleep.”
  121. “Something’s off about this-”
  122. >”Now!”
  123. >Anger flashes across her features.
  124. >You hang your head, nodding against your chest.
  125. “Yeah. Sorry.”
  126. >She comes to your side as you slide off your chair, her wing replacing her sister’s as she half-guides, half-pushes you towards the big plush pile Twilight’s still resting in.
  127. >You drop to your knees then crawl around it on all fours, ending up roughly where Celestia had been, as Luna returns to her sister’s side.
  128. >”Lets do our dance,” Celestia says to her. “Together.”
  129. >You nudge Twilight.
  130. “Hey.”
  131. >”Hmph?”
  132. >You kiss the sleepy pony on her cheek, then collapse back on the bedding behind her.
  133. “Shift change.”
  134. >”Hmph.”
  135. >Twilight gets to her feet, shakes her head, and drags herself out of the cushions.
  136. “Can you check my work, when you’re fully awake? I’m pretty sure I screwed something up with that hip.”
  137. >”Stallions...”
  138. >The two of you look out the now-open door, then, where Celestia and Luna sit on the grass just beyond the packed earth path.
  139. >They sit side-by-side, leaning on each other. A wing of each is wrapped around the other. Their horns glow as they look up to the sky, with small traces of glowing color drifting upward from both now and then.
  140. >The sky fills with tiny sparks corresponding to their magic hues, as they do their work. Not for long, maybe just to put a little more spin on things already in motion, but for as long as the effect lasts, it’s beautiful.
  141. >You only led your eyelids’ weight take over when it’s complete, and Luna’s walking back to you, while Celestia and Twilight head towards the palace.
  142. >Your fatigue-scrambled mind takes an abominably long time to realize why.
  143. >Yeah, breakfast is probably important.
  144. >You and Luna haven’t eaten since a midnight snack, but you’re too tired to care.
  145. >You’d already fallen halfway asleep by the time Luna reaches you, and she drops down on the pile, snapping you awake again.
  146. >As you open your eyes again, she puts her nose to yours, looking into your eyes.
  147. >”Now you can rest.”
  148. >Your turn to give an indistinct mumble of a response, like Twilight’s before.
  149. >Luna laughs, then rolls over to shimmy her back towards you.
  150. >You reach out and pull her against you, burying your face in that cool, nippy mane. The little pricks of sleet-like stars keep you at a modicum of alertness.
  151. >After a moment, she half-turns her head to you. “Do you enjoy that sensation?”
  152. “I’ve been coming around to it. It’s… unique. It’s you. You can do this thing no other pony can, and I’m going to experience it as much as I can.”
  153. >”Doth it bother you, then?”
  154. “Nothing about you bothers me. Only things I need to get used to.”
  155. >She squrims against you a little more and drops her head back to the bedding. “You are too sweet.”
  156. “Just sweet enough. Love you.”
  157. >She nickers quietly, not loud enough for you to hear with one ear buried in a pillow and her facing away from you, but you can feel it where your hand rests on her chest. “I love you too, Anon.”
  158. >That she said it feels so far away, as you’re already falling asleep.
  159.  
  160. * * *
  161.  
  162. >You gently, so very gently, slide the brain’s frame into the back of the head.
  163. >Two phone motherboards are angled to fit against the inner walls of the head, against rubber plates for impact protection. Between them is a large ring with innumerable contacts, wires extending off them from both the top and bottom of the ring. Some travel to other parts of the head. Most of them run into a hard, segmented conduit that will plug into where the neck meets the body, once you get the neck assembled.
  164. >For now, however, the head rests disembodied on a workbench.
  165. >Once it’s inserted, you start securing the fasteners on either side of the exterior, then work the final attachment points for the fabric shroud between the inner and outer frames. Twilight floats her massive sapphire to the back of the head, and slowly places it at the center of the ring. Then you hear the click of its retaining bracket snapping into place.
  166. “Snug?”
  167. >”It’s secure.”
  168. >Twilight’s horn continues to glow as she closes the head’s access hatch, and then you see a magenta flash as she magically seals it.
  169. >Wouldn’t do to have just anyone able to poke around her head.
  170. >You and Twilight join Celestia and Luna , where they were watching you from the other side of the bench.
  171. “Looks better than I expected, being honest.”
  172. >Celestia looks to you. “What do you mean by that?”
  173. “Well, back home we had this principle called ‘uncanny valley.’ If you make something perfectly lifelike, it looks okay. If you make it look not lifelike at all, it looks okay. But if you make it look somewhat but not quite lifelike, it’d look repulsive. Twilight and I designed around that; it’s one reason why we have framework over the protective shroud, why there’s no mane but there will be a tail, and so on. Needs to be obviously artificial in some respects.”
  174. >You look to the three, then.
  175. “But I’m not a pony, so I can’t really say. What do you think?”
  176. >”I will admit,” Celestia begins hesitantly, “that it will be difficult to ignore her nature no matter how she looks. Perhaps it was best to emphasize it, then.”
  177. “Yeah. No pretenses. Will it, uh, get in the way of any motherly instinct?”
  178. >”She’ll have a strange scent,” Twilight says, returning to the suspended body and circling it, “and she’s already the size of an adult. But that’s only part of it. There’s still our awareness of what she is, and the bonds we’ll be nurturing. And the care for a creation exists beyond just that of a parent and child, I imagine doubly so when the creation can care for you back.” She shakes her head, then. “But who am I to say? I never really thought about motherhood before. I’ve just read some books.”
  179. >You look to the sisters.
  180. >”I love all my little ponies,” Celestia says, “and this one will be mine moreso than the rest.”
  181. >She leaves it at that, as if it was self-evident.
  182. >Luna’s looking intently at the face of the head in front of you. “If she will looketh upon me as her mother, I shall see her as my filly.”
  183. >Then the three look at you.
  184. >You look at the head yourself, and sigh.
  185. “I’m going to be a terrible father, an Equestrian one especially. But that’s not going to stop me from trying my best. Back home we humans would get attached to all sorts of things, even robots, which is similar to what she will be like. They didn’t have to look human, or even like an animal. Soldiers would get attached to bomb disposal robots. Millions of people followed the misadventures of robots in development, would get upset when the engineers and techs had to abuse them for tests. I think Twilight’s right; it’s about how you view it and what you go through, more than anything.”
  186. >”So this is not the first time your people have built things like this?” Celestia asks.
  187. “No, but it’s the first time it’s going to be, well, alive. Thinking, presumably feeling. Just plowing ahead as we are would get me skewered back home; half the world thinks making thinking robots would bring about the end of everything.”
  188. >”Then we’ll just have to raise her right.”
  189. >You chuckle and shake your head. “Yeah. It still feels so surreal. I’m glad you’re so sure of this, Celestia. I’d be halfway insane by now if I was doing this alone.”
  190. >She smiles a warm, gentle smile at you. “I have faith in my herd.”
  191. >The four of you continue looking at the head, once Twilight stops her circling. The black fabric sandwiched between the two frame layers contrasts with the steel of the outer frame atop it.
  192. >You’ll have to keep her clean. Maybe not polished, but you’ll have to stay on top of any potential corrosion. Regular maintenance is essential, and you’re not sure how much she’ll be able to do herself.
  193. >Not that you’d do any less than everything, to keep her in top shape.
  194. >Even if not in a tub full of water, that’s like bathing your filly while she’s still unable, isn’t it?.
  195. >Maybe you could do this fatherhood thing after all.
  196. >You shake your head and stand.
  197. “Alright, onto the neck.”
  198.  
  199. * * *
  200.  
  201. >Her completed body lay on the pile of bedding.
  202. >The pile had been moved to the middle of the room, rearranged so all the pillows were at the bottom with all the blankets spread on the top in successive layers. Hopefully this would minimize any confusion on the part of its occupant.
  203. >She looks, frankly, beautiful.
  204. >The contrast of black fabric under bright steel framing had only been heightened by the workshop’s delivery of Twilight’s rush orders, from her friend. Brass and bronze filigree patterns lay over the steel frame, its curves and arcs thick enough to resist everyday damage but still looking delicate as it winds in its own intricate, looping designs.
  205. >Wings excluded, of course, which are still unadorned aluminum. Sometimes functionality cannot be compromised in the slightest.
  206. >Moving her into place hadn’t been difficult. With the weight-decreasing spell, she was heavier than the similarly-sized Twilight, but not by much, somewhere just over Luna’s weight.
  207. >Her head rests on the blankets, neck outstretched forward of her body.
  208. >Her legs are folded beneath her. This had been Twilight’s idea; she said the awareness the spell creates would likely try inputs at random at first, gauging responses. Restricting certain ranges of motion may prompt it to explore other avenues first. This would lead, hopefully, to her eyes opening and head moving as one of her first actions.
  209. >Beneath her as they were, you can’t see her quartz hooves. It was such a simple thing, but you are inordinately proud of them; they sounded more natural than steel would have, their mounting provides a bit of shock resistance for the leg, they enable walking to trickle-charge a small backup battery in case the main generator fails, and they look good to boot.
  210. >Her talons are tipped with quartz as well, one claw on each rotor hub on her wings. They aren’t the best pressure sensors designed, but thanks to magic, you could do more with the piezoelectric effect than back home. You haven’t yet figured out how to electrically monitor magic in a crystal, but Twilight had figured out how to magically monitor electrical charge in one. She said the talon-tips were necessary because she was tired of having to guess how much force she applied with her own claws.
  211. >Those wings are held to her sides by way of a small hook protruding from the body between it and each wing. A temporary measure for the filly to rest her wings until she figures out how to hold them in place on her own.
  212. >Then she could make a decision whether or not she wanted to keep them.
  213. >You still need to get used to the idea of your creation making design decisions for herself.
  214. >Her inert form looks very dignified in its repose.
  215. >But the time has come to give her the spark of life.
  216. >Celesta and Luna stand to either side of her, heads low and horns pointed towards the open access hatch at the back of her head.
  217. >Twilight sits on the ground in front of her, her own horn up under the head’s upper jaw. Besides the back hatch, this was the only way to access the core crystal.
  218. >You’re crouched at Twilight’s side, steadying her with an arm around her midsection, as she starts to speak.
  219. >”Okay. Casting the spell is going to take a bit of time. Celestia, Luna, I need you to fill the crystal with as much raw power as you can. Once the animation spell takes hold, the amount of power you’ve managed to put into it will set its reservoir capacity. Don’t worry about breaking it; I’ll be draining it as I cast the spell, so I don’t have to rely on my own power exclusively. I’ll need to cast three more spells; two for the sense-sharing spells for each other part of the brain, and then closing up the head, and I can’t be exhausted for that. I’ll know if the first spell worked – or, I should say, if it didn’t work in the manner we intend it to not work – if I can target it with the spells to come after.”
  220. >You hug your arm around Twilight’s midsection a little tighter, to comfort yourself more than her. Her wing around your shoulders hugs you back as she closes her eyes.
  221. >It’s all out of your hands now.
  222. >Everything leading up to this moment you’d been an integral part of, alongside Twilight. Your initial designs, your tech, the progress of which had been under your direction, using your knowledge. The very idea was a slice of home, that you could make a construct of copper and steel instead of crystal and magic. Two of the three major parts of the brain were duplicated from the one significant piece of your world you had left to yourself.
  223. >But you’d done all you could.
  224. >It’s up to your three mares now.
  225. >No, not yours. You were theirs, truly. Something you’d been realizing as this project had unfolded.
  226. >You gave direction, and you still did a good amount of work, but Twilight did just as much as you on both counts. The three of them, though, they’d tackled this project you’d given them with an intensity beyond mere work, or even enthusiasm.
  227. >They had taken it from you exclusively, and made it their own.
  228. >And as they’d worked, as you spent the time between tasks together, ate together, and slept in pairs on the same makeshift bed, even while building this echo of your world, they’d taken you from that world, and made you their own too.
  229. >So much for your antiquated notions.
  230. >Twilight’s horn starts glowing magenta, followed shortly by Celestia’s glowing yellow and Luna’s blue.
  231. >After hearing the quiet thunk of the generator’s contacts engaging, you can feel Twilight’s breathing quicken, and become more labored, under your arm.
  232. >Her wing feels like it spasms around your shoulders, and you bring up your other hand to close around the end of the limb, to steady it.
  233. >But she makes not a sound.
  234. >The sisters to either side look less troubled, but their eyes are closed in concentration.
  235. >And you’re crouched here with no way of knowing what’s going on.
  236. >The wait is torture.
  237. >What if it fails here, at this final step? What if something goes wrong, and they have undo everything, killing her as soon as she’s born?
  238. >Your mind is flying through the plans, thinking of every place something could have been screwed up.
  239. >It could all end before it even begins.
  240. >Twilight’s eyes snap open, and as she pulls her head back out of the filly’s mouth and upward, the light of the three horns fades.
  241. >”I’ve got it!”
  242. >Twilight’s horn lights up again, three flashes in rapid succession, the last eliciting an echoing burst from the back of the filly’s head.
  243. >As it fades the body’s already moving.
  244. >The sisters come around to either side of you and Twilight as you watch the haphazard twitching.
  245. >True to Twilight’s prediction, the little nudges and rocks of flexing leg joints, beneath the body, don’t turn into larger movements.
  246. >A minute motion here and there from the neck, or the back where the body’s front half and back half meet, disturbs the blankets she lays on.
  247. >Then her left eye opens.
  248. >She goes still.
  249. >And stays still for almost a minute.
  250. >The four of you, in unison, dip your heads to look into that one eye.
  251. >It flicks to the left, then back ahead. Down, then back.
  252. >Then in two small motions, one horizontal and the other vertical, it looks at you.
  253. >One of you, at least; it’s difficult to tell with the light reflecting off the glass eye’s surface, but definitely in your direction.
  254. >One ear swivels and flexes in seemingly-random directions, before turning to face you. The other shortly follows suit.
  255. >Then the other eye opens.
  256. >You suppress a snort of amusement when you see the two eyes aren’t looking in the same direction.
  257. >This quickly corrects itself; the second eye apparently not needing the experimental motions first, just like the second ear.
  258. >s soon as you’re looking into both those eyes, staring back at you, you get the feeling everything is going to work out just fine.
  259. >Luna, on the other side of you from Twilight, sits heavily on the floor, then lowers the front part of her body as well, laying down. You put your other arm around her and scritch at her cheek.
  260. >From the tension there, it feels like she’s holding back tears.
  261. >Twilight’s panting turns into a quiet laugh of relief.
  262. >It’s Celestia who takes the first meaningful action, though. She walks up to the filly’s side.
  263. >Those glass eyes snap to her, tracking her in halting jumps as she moves until she’s out of their range of motion.
  264. >The neck twitches one way, then cracks all the way in the other direction, eyes now closed.
  265. >Celestia kneels down beside the filly and murmurs something in her ear.
  266. >The head jerks back towards her again, but in slower, more measured increments, as Celestia lays down beside the filly.
  267. >You lean in to whisper to Twilight, who’s breathing is only now coming under control.
  268. “There’s no way she knows words yet.”
  269. >”I don’t know, Anon. We don’t really know much about how this works. Nobody’s ever wanted to fail casting a spell before, let alone one this complex. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t”
  270. >Celestia’s face is alongside the filly’s now, and Celestia nuzzles the side of her head. The filly’s head twists the other direction, overcompensates, then slowly tilts back to level.
  271. >Upon discovering this new function, the filly starts tilting her head by small amounts in every direction, returning to level after every adjustment, and opens her eyes again once she’s finished, finding Celestia’s own close eyes easily.
  272. >The white alicorn then nudges the filly’s front half to the side, pushing the closest leg out with her snout and dragging it out in front of the two of them.
  273. >The filly looks down at it and slowly, experimentally, flexes the leg.
  274. >Twilight tenses up in your grip “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”
  275. “Think of what?”
  276. >She shakes her head and laughs quietly again. “She always finds a way to remind me that I was the student. I explained to her how, with theoretically unlimited channel space, we decided to just give every actuator a magical position sensor, instead of having to compromise as we did with the claws. That’s one to one with every way the body can move. From how quickly her opposite eye and ear were able to train, it seems like she understands that, in a way. Celestia caught on, and decided to show her those movements.”
  277. “Why is she using her nose, instead of her magic?”
  278. >Twilight shrugs her wings under your arm. “I don’t know. Maybe wanting to bond as physically as possible, even if the filly can’t feel it like natural ones can. She wont know what all that means, but when she watches us give each other affection like that, she’ll understand eventually, and want it for herself, even without all the physical and chemical reinforcement behind it.”
  279. “So what you’re saying is-”
  280. >This sounds ridiculous, especially with how much it fills you with hope.
  281. “-we can teach a robot to love?”
  282. >”I think she already knows that, in the sense of family bonds. That’s what I focused on when casting, as you said when you first showed me. Love, that she’s a pony, and that she’s our daughter.”
  283. >Luna stands again and leaves your side, at that. She settles herself down on the filly’s other side from Celestia, but doesn’t mirror Celestia’s actions, instead just watching the two of them.
  284. >The filly’s actively turning her head and eyes back to Celestia after each action, now, to see Celestia smile, for the princess to touch their noses together. By the third time this action’s repeated, the filly’s stretching her own head out for the contact.
  285. >When you and Twilight edge closer, head-on, however, the filly’s attention snaps to you, and she brings her head up and back.
  286. >You stop and look to Luna, who’s watching the filly intently.
  287. >Then, thinking on what Twilight said about learning affection by example, you reach out and caress the side of Luna’s head. She automatically leans into it.
  288. >You keep your hand there, playing with Luna’s ear, as the filly’s gaze travels down your arm to where you touch the blue alicorn, then slowly back up its length to meet your eyes again.
  289. >Then you let go of Twilight and slowly reach your other hand out to the filly’s own head, hooking your thumb around her ear just as you had Luna’s.
  290. >She doesn’t react, but neither does she move any further as you and Twilight come up to the filly’s front, with her settling down on front of Celestia and you in front of Luna.
  291. >The sisters have their wings over the filly, by then, so she’s completely surrounded by her family but for her head sticking up and out of the feathery mess.
  292. >When you pull your hand away from her head, she chases after it a short distance, drawing a laugh from more than one of you.
  293. >And you realize that feeling that drove Luna to the ground, when the filly had first looked at you all.
  294. >An eerie, almost crippling feeling of love.
  295. >Like you just want to exist in this moment for all eternity.
  296. >Surrounded by the mares of the herd in one big pile of love, at your collective creation’s – your child’s – moment of birth, with so many possible futures stretched out before you and the past that led to this moment feeling inconsequential.
  297. >Luna drops her head across your thighs, and tilts her head to look up at you with one eye.
  298. >It’s a silent question. ’You feel it too?’
  299. >You nod and rub the side of her neck, then look to Twilight and Celestia, leaning into each other as Twilight’s started trying to get the filly to mirror her head and ear motions, her forehooves resting on your shins near her chest.
  300. >One moment of perfect bliss.
  301. >But, ah, you’re ever preoccupied with work, aren’t you?
  302. >There is still a task left unfinished.
  303. >You sigh and clear your throat.
  304. >This gets all the ponies’ attentions.
  305. >Including the filly.
  306. >With a soft smile, you look over them all, your new Equestrian family.
  307. “So… what do we name her?”
  308.  
  309. [END]

Misc. Prompts: Knightanon Christmas

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.01&02

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.03

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.04

by E4-NG

In A Better Light: Sc.05&06

by E4-NG